College Baseball Weekend Wrap Up: Week Five

A look around the college baseball world of current and former Sweets

Spring is officially here, and with it comes another action packed week of college baseball.

Week five saw some powerful performances at the plate and on the mound for current and former Sweets players.  We take a look at all of that and more as we dive into this week’s edition of the Wrap Up.

 

Bam Bam!

If you look up “home run” in the dictionary, you’ll probably see a picture of Lewis-Clark State slugger Brock Ephan accompanying it.

The power hitting infielder and 2019 Sweets alum was on a tear this weekend for the Warriors against the College of Idaho.  He finished the series 6 for 15, with 8 RBI’s and 10 runs scored, and homered in three of the four games for the LCSC, with all four games resulting in wins.

Ephan saved the biggest home run for last, as he launched a 1st inning grand slam for the Warriors in Sunday’s matchup to set the tone for the day.  LCSC would go on to win 11-1 against the College of Idaho to complete the sweep of the weekend series of the Yotes.

Ephan, affectionately nicknamed “Bam” during his time with the Sweets due to his big hit capabilities, doubled his home run total for the year that now stands at six.  His big weekend helped push the 9th ranked Warriors record to 20-2.  

LCSC looks to continue its nine game winning streak next weekend when they host Eastern Oregon.

 

Superb Stubbings

Down in Colorado, a former teammate of Ephan’s was also lighting up the box score.

Colorado Mesa infielder and Sweets signee Jordan Stubbings was putting on a show at the plate in their weekend series at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.  The junior from Parker, Colorado went 9 for 18 at the plate in the series, with 6 RBI’s, 3 doubles, and added a home run of his own too.

The strong series from Stubbings helped power Colorado Mesa to taking three of four games in the series, as the Mavericks are now 12-2 on the season, including a 9-1 record in conference play.  

Stubbings, who will be coming back to Walla Walla for his second season with the Sweets, raised his season average to an impressive .404 line, with 19 RBI’s, 6 doubles and 4 home runs on the year.  He continues to be a key part of Colorado Mesa’s lineup, as they play next weekend against Adams State.

 

Sullivan Shuts Down the Lancers

The University of California had a rough start to its weekend series against the visiting Cal Baptist Lancers, losing 7-0 in Friday’s game.  The Bears needed a big pick me up for Saturday’s matchup.

Enter Sean Sullivan.

The junior right hander righted the ship for Cal, as the 2018 Sweets alum was dominant in his start, going 6 innings of scoreless ball allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, walking none and striking out 7.  Sullivan would pick up the win on the day, as the Bears beat down the Lancers to a tune of 15-1.

The win was Sullivan’s second on the season, as the right hander has found a groove in his last couple of starts, allowing just 2 earned runs over his last 12 innings of work.  He has also stuck out 10 and has not allowed a walk in that time span.

Sullivan looks to be a big part of the Cal Bears rotation this season, as they continue conference play in the PAC-12 next weekend against the Utah Utes.

 

Across the Diamond

Other notable performances from across the college baseball world:

Sophomore Jacob Blas (Sweets 2017 alum) made the most of his two hits this weekend, homering in two of Arizona’s three games this weekend against UCLA.

Cal Baptist senior Matt Amhrein (‘17)  pitched 1 ⅔ scoreless innings against the University of California Sunday.  The right hander didn’t allow a hit in his outing, while also striking out a batter in the Lancers 9-8 loss to the Bears.

Central Washington left hander Brayde Hirai went 4 ⅔  innings in his start Saturday against Northwest Nazarene.  The Sweets signee allowed 4 runs, but gave up just 1 walk while striking out 7 in the Wildcats 7-3 loss.

Lewis-Clark State College right hander Bryson Spagnuolo (‘19) came on in relief and finished out the 12-4 win in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader for the Warriors.  The redshirt sophomore went 2 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 2.

Montana State Billings infielder Carson Green (‘19) had a solid weekend at the plate for the Yellowjackets.  The sophomore went 7 for 17 in the series, with 5 RBI’s, 3 doubles, and a home run as he helped the Yellowjackets win three of four against Saint Martin’s.

Northwest Nazarene won three of their four games against Central Washington University this weekend, with several current and former Sweets contributing.

Sweets signee Nick Irwin appeared in two games this weekend for the Nighthawks.  The sophomore right hander went a combined 1 ⅓ innings, allowing no runs on 1 hit, while striking out 2.  

Another Sweets signee, catcher Quentin Ayers, went a combined 2 for 6 at the plate on the weekend.  The freshman added 2 RBI’s and scored a run in his two games of action.

Do everything senior Ben Johnson (‘19) played a part in all four games for NNU. The right hander started in game one of Saturday’s double header, going 5 ⅔ innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 5 as he picked up the win.  Johnson also delivered at the plate, going a combined 6 for 14 in the series, driving in 3 runs.

Right hander Ty Hueckman (‘18) was dominant in his appearance in Friday’s game one doubleheader.  The senior came on in relief and pitched 4 scoreless innings for the Nighthawks, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 5 in NNU’s 4-2 loss.

Sweets signee Spencer Schwehr picked up the win in game two of Saturday’s double header.  The left hander was impressive, scattering 6 hits over 5 ⅓ innings, striking out 3 as the Nighthawks closed out the series with a 3-1 win.

University of Oregon pitcher Andrew Mosiello (‘19) came on in relief Saturday to help finish off a 7-1 win for the Ducks over Arizona State.  The freshman right hander went 2 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and striking out a batter.

USC left hander Isaac Esqueda (‘17) had another solid outing for the Trojans on Friday.  The junior from Pomona went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5, as he picked up the win in the Trojans 3-2 victory over the University of Washington.

USC senior infielder Tyler Pritchard (‘18) was a combined 3 for 11 on the weekend, driving in 3 runs and scoring 2 more in helping the Trojans sweep the Washington Huskies 3-0 in the series.

Senior left hander Bryce Moyle (‘18) pitched ⅔ innings of relief in Sunday’s game for Washington State University.  The veteran lefty allowed just 1 hit in his outing in the Cougars 9-8 loss to the Oregon State Beavers.

Sweet signees Travis Craven and Ben Ortiz both played key roles over the weekend for Whitman College.

Craven made two appearances for the Blues in their four game weekend series against the visiting Whitworth Pirates.  The veteran left hander picked up two wins, both in relief efforts, going a combined 5 2/3 innings, allowing just 2 hits and no runs while striking out 6.

Ortiz also made two appearances on the weekend, with his best effort coming in game one of Sunday’s double header.  The junior right hander came on for Whitman in a 10-2 deficit and held the line, going 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball while striking out 2 as he allowed Whitman to stay alive in the game before ultimately falling 10-7 in the loss.

By: Walla Walla Sweets

Date: March 21, 2021